Sonoma County forms advisory panel for crafting winery regulations

[Barry]

Sonoma County forms advisory panel for crafting winery regulations

Sonoma County planning officials have named high-powered winery executives, leading environmentalists and several rural residents to a 21-member panel formed to give input on the highly charged issue of winery development in the county.

The group includes officials from Jackson Family Wines and the Sonoma County Farm Bureau as well as neighborhood representatives concerned about development encroaching on the county’s rural character.

Between next month and March 2016, the panel is charged with crafting proposed regulations for the unincorporated area that could set new standards for events at wineries, including how many should be allowed per year and what type — from weddings to wine pairing dinners and industry events such as barrel tasting weekend.

The advisory process, set up to inform county planners and the Board of Supervisors, is launching amid an escalating debate over winery development in the county, focused especially on new and expanding sites that seek to double as event centers. The outcome, including potential tighter limits and more strict enforcement for wineries, is seen as having high stakes for the region’s signature industry.

“This is very important to the industry, but the impacts are also important to neighborhood activists,” said Tennis Wick, director of the county’s Permit and Resource Management Department, which oversees planning and building permits, including those for new or expanded wineries. “We’re going to be focused on what type of events should be allowed, and potential over-concentration of events in some areas.”

Rural residents have voiced increased concern about an onslaught of traffic and noise they say is associated with a growing number of special gatherings at wineries situated on backcountry roads. Neighbors also are worried about the strain on the region’s natural resources, including groundwater.

Winery owners and industry representatives say their projects have limited impacts, and they point to measures they have taken to reduce traffic and noise in their neighborhoods. They also defend their use of events to promote their businesses, saying such gatherings are crucial to boost direct sales.

Both sides acknowledge that the long-simmering debate about the issue has reached a boiling point.

“These issues are not new, but we are finding that we need some common definitions about what counts as an event, and some kind of framework for setting the rules,” said Bob Anderson, executive director of United Winegrowers for Sonoma County, who is one of those representing the industry on the panel. “That way, all parties know what’s allowed and what isn’t.”

Other industry representatives include Karissa Kruse, president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission; Carolyn Stark, executive director of Sonoma County Vintners; John Azevedo, a Healdsburg grape grower and president of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau; and Katie Jackson, director of government relations and sustainability for Santa Rosa-based Jackson Family Wines.

Rural residents selected to participate include Fred Corson, a Dry Creek Valley homeowner who is also chairman of the Dry Creek Valley Citizens Advisory Council; Joan Fleck, who led the effort to protest celebrity chef Guy Fieri’s proposed winery on Willowside Road in Santa Rosa; Rue Furch, a former county planning commissioner involved in a group critical of winery expansion in rural areas; and Marc Bommersbach, a vocal critic of winery development on rural roads who leads the Westside Association to Save Agriculture.

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Sonoma County winery working group members:
Carolyn Stark, executive director of Sonoma County Vintners
Karissa Kruse, president of Sonoma County Winegrowers
Bob Anderson, executive director of United Winegrowers for Sonoma County
John Azevedo, president of Sonoma County Farm Bureau and Healdsburg grape grower
Rue Furch, longtime county planning commissioner, active in the group Neighbors to Preserve Rural Sonoma County
Katie Jackson, director of government relations and sustainability for Santa Rosa-based Jackson Family Wines
Tom Blackwood, director of retail operations for Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma
Debra Dommen, vice president of government and community relations for Chateau St. Jean winery in Kenwood
Kathleen Connelly, a concerned resident who lives along Highway 12 in Santa Rosa
Kathy Pons, president of the Valley of the Moon Alliance in Sonoma Valley
Ana Keller, owner of Keller Estate Winery
John Balletto, owner of Balletto Vineyards and Winery
Joan Fleck, resident of Willowside Road in Santa Rosa
Eric Koenigshofer, attorney and former county supervisor
Richard Kagel, president of the Dry Creek Valley Association and vineyard owner
Julie Pedroncelli, of Pedroncelli Winery and Vineyards in Geyserville
Mark Mathewson, director of hospitality and marketing for Rodney Strong Vineyards in Healdsburg
James Dreisback, a concerned resident who lives on Westside Road
Marc Bommersbach, president of the Dry Creek Valley Association
Fred Corson, board chairman of the Dry Creek Valley Citizens Advisory Council
Jason Boaz, a Healdsburg fireman and member of the Dry Creek Valley Citizens Advisory Council

[Shepherd]

It is helpful that we have Rue, Marc, and Kathy Pons on this advisory panel. They represent environmentalists, as may others whom I do not know. They are clearly out-numbered by wine industry reps, and deserve our support for the hard work that each of them have done and are committed to continuing to do. Please consider adding online comments or letters to the editor in response to the PD article to support them.

Sonoma County forms advisory panel for crafting winery regulations

Sonoma County planning officials have named high-powered winery executives, leading environmentalists and several rural residents to a 21-member panel formed to give input on the highly charged issue of winery development in the county.
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[Eileen M.]

I am grateful to Rue and the others for taking on this job. I 'll support them as best I can. it seems like 13 of 21 have ties to the $ wine industry. Fair and balanced like Fox News?

[Shepherd]

Once rural Sonoma County is becoming rapidly urbanized and industrialized, especially by Big Wine. They have a small ag component and huge industrial, commercial elements. Young farmers can seldom find land to grow food on, or homes to live in.

Sonoma County has been discovered by greedy investors who buy into wineries, and may never even visit here. They take our money and water out of the county. They draw wine tourists here who clog our already problematic rural roads. It is a dangerous trend that must be struggled against, so we can retain rural and food ag. elements, as well as those truly local grape growers and wineries, who work hard to make a living.

I am grateful to Rue and the others for taking on this job. I 'll support them as best I can. it seems like 13 of 21 have ties to the $ wine industry. Fair and balanced like Fox News?

[dominus]

Does anyone know exactly how these individuals were selected to participate on this panel? There is cause to be
concerned given that participation is so heavily weighted on the winery side.

[Shepherd]

I think that the director of the Permit and Resources Management Dept. (PRMD) made the decisions, with advice from the Sups. For example, I think that Sup. Susan Gorin helped Rue Furch get on the panel. It is a heavily weighted, unbalanced panel with over-representation by the wine industry, in my opinion.

There was an important article in yesterday's PD on a meeting of a similar nature in Napa County, which also mentioned the pending Sonoma County first meeting. Perhaps someone could send us a link to that PD article, which could help the public stay in touch with this process. I have a print copy.

Does anyone know exactly how these individuals were selected to participate on this panel? There is cause to be
concerned given that participation is so heavily weighted on the winery side.